Hoping For the Best:
A summary of the national
dialogue on higher education
Melissa Canady Wargo
Office of Assessment
Presented to WCU Strategic Planning
Committee-Fall 2006
“We expect transparency and
accountability in almost every
area of our government-from
housing to health care to K-12
education. But in higher
education, we’ve invested tens
of billions of taxpayer dollars
over the years and basically
just hoped for the best.”
(Margaret Spellings, U.S. Secretary of
Education, in remarks to the NPEC’s National
Symposium on November 2, 2006)
Top Issues in Higher Education Today
•Affordability
•Financial Aid
•Access
•Quality
•Innovation
•Accountability
Affordability
• From 1995-2005, average tuition and fees at
public, 4-year institutions rose 51%.
• Next to institutional financial aid, the largest
growth has been in administrative costs for
improvements in student services (i.e., fitness
centers, dorms, etc.)
Spellings’ Commission finding:
“… affordability is directly affected
by a financing system that provides
limited incentives for colleges and
universities to take aggressive steps
to improve institutional efficiency
and productivity.” (p. 9)
Financial Aid
• There are at least 20 different federal aid
programs.
• FAFSA is longer and more complicated than the
average tax return.
• Aid information comes too late and discourages
college attendance.
• Unmet need among lowest-income families rose
80% from 1990-2004 at 4-year schools.
Spellings’ Commission finding:
“The federal financial aid system is
confusing, complex, inefficient,
duplicative, and frequently does not
direct aid to students who truly need
it.” (p. 11)
Access
• Number of high school graduates attending
college has stalled and completion rates have
remained stagnant.
• Only 1/3 of whites, 18% of blacks, and 10% of
Latinos have obtained bachelor’s degrees by
age 25-29.
Spellings’ Commission finding:
“American higher education is
unduly limited by the complex
interplay of inadequate
preparation, lack of information
about college opportunities, and
persistent financial barriers..” (p. 7)
Quality
• The National Assessment of Adult Literacy
indicates the percentage of college graduates
proficient in prose literacy has declined from
40% to 31% in the past decade.
• Employers frequently find college graduates
lack basic critical thinking, writing and problemsolving skills.
Spellings’ Commission finding:
“… we are disturbed by evidence
that the quality of student learning
at U.S. colleges and universities is
inadequate and, in some cases,
declining.” (p. 12)
Innovation
• New methods of teaching and content delivery
have not been adopted by most colleges to
meet demand for lifelong learning.
• Traditional academic calendars prevent
efficient use of physical plants and result in less
than optimal learning programs.
Spellings’ Commission finding:
“Numerous barriers to investment in
innovation risk hampering the ability
of postsecondary institutions to
address national workforce needs
and compete in the global
marketplace.” (p. 4)
Accountability
• Constituents of higher ed have no information on
how much students learn at a particular institution or
whether they learn more at one college than
another
• Data collected at the national level excludes
nontraditional students and rarely focuses on
outcomes
• Accreditation reviews are rarely made public
Spellings’ Commission finding:
“Our complex, decentralized
postsecondary education system has
no comprehensive strategy … to
provide either adequate internal
accountability systems or effective
public information.” (p. 13)
Why is it important to address
these issues?
• Nearly 90% of fastest growing jobs require
some higher education. (Source: Dept. of Labor)
• Most new job openings will be in STEM, health
care, or education. (Source: Employment Outlook 2004-2014)
• In 2003, median income by educational
attainment:
– HS Diploma $30,800
– Associate’s Degree $37,600
– Bachelor’s Degree $49,900
• Over a lifetime, an individual with a
bachelor’s degree will earn nearly twice as
much ($2.1 million) as a person with a HS
diploma. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
Recommendations - Affordability
• Improve cost management
through the development of
performance benchmarks
• Reduce barriers for transfer students
• Provide incentives to institutions
fostering access, cutting costs,
increasing productivity and
enhancing quality
• Eliminate or streamline the
regulatory burden on colleges and
universities
Recommendations – Financial Aid
• Increase need-based aid by all
providers (federal, state, institution)
• Replace FAFSA with a shorter,
simpler form.
• Provide early estimates of need or
ability to pay by 8th grade.
• Increase Pell Grant award to
cover 70% of average in-state
tuition at public 4-year institutions
Recommendations - Access
• Align K-12 graduation standards with
college and employer expectations
• Expand early college or dual
enrollment programs
• Remove barriers to student mobility
and promote new learning
paradigms.
• Address the information gap for
students and parents on how to
prepare for college.
• Expand programs to adults through
new technologies and innovations
Recommendations - Quality
• Revise higher education worldview
based on reputation to one based
on performance
• Implement student assessments that
directly measure learning and
engagement (NSSE, CLA)
• Develop regional or national
venues to compile and share data
on extent of student learning (Nat’l
Forum on College-Level Learning)
Recommendations - Innovation
• Revitalize and increase funding for
FIPSE
• Maximize information technology
by sharing educational resources
among institutions
• Establish course redesign programs
using technology-based, learnercentered principles
• Explore emerging interdisciplinary
fields such as services sciences,
management and engineering
Recommendations -Accountability
• Create consumer-friendly
information database to allow
constituents to weigh and rank
comparative institutional
performance.
• Collect data and provide
information in a common format
• Develop a higher education
information system using studentlevel data
Additional Recommendations
• Increase investment in STEM fields,
teaching, & healthcare
• Increase emphasis on international
education (foreign language, study
abroad, etc .)
• Eliminate barriers to immigration
for international students with
advanced STEM degrees
Higher Education Response
• AASCU
• AAC&U
• CHEA
• SHEEO
• NASULGC
Suggested Reading
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U.S. Department of Education. 2006. A Test of
Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education.
American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
2006. Graduation Rates and Student Success: Squaring
Ends and Means.
American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
2006. Value-Added Assessment: Accountability's New
Frontier.
Bok, Derek. 2005. Our Underachieving Colleges: A
Candid Look at How Much Students Learn and Why
They Should Be Learning More.
The College Board. 2005. Trends in Student Aid.
The College Board. 2005. Trends in College Pricing.
National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.
2004. Measuring Up 2004: The National Report on Higher
Education.
Venezia, Andrea, Michael W. Kirst, and Anthony L.
Antonio. 2003. Betraying the College Dream: How
Disconnected K-12 and Postsecondary Education
Systems Undermine Student Aspirations.